I have to admit, I was a little skeptical going into Lost in Secular Love. Monks aren't exactly on the top of my "hottest romances" list, but this little visual novel sated my fetishy hunger for forbidden love stories quite well. And though the premise is rather simplistic, and more than a little contrived, it's enjoyable enough for me to look past the silliness and appreciate what's there, both the romantic and creepy aspects of it.

Qiye is the second child of a once affluent Chinese family that was thrust into debt after her father's passing. In order to help provide for her mother and siblings during these hard times, she dresses as a man and works at a nearby restaurant, something that would prove scandalous if the truth were ever discovered. Fearful that her daughter may end up an old maid, Qiye's mother suggests marrying one of the monks at the parish's temple, which would have the added benefit of allowing her to financially provide for the family as the head of the temple's affairs. Although against the idea at first, Qiye quickly realizes that doing so would secure her three square meals of white rice a day, at which point she tosses all objections to the wind. And so she is shipped off to the Qing Lian Temple where she is to study the Moyu religion and prepare herself for marriage to the temple's senior monk.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1397634099
Okay, so that's not exactly the most exciting premise in the world, but what did you expect from a game about romancing monks? Fortunately, it doesn't take long to get right into romancing the guys and learning about the Moyu religion, which is pretty much Buddhism with some terminology changes. The game is only 10 short chapters long with only a handful of choices, but fortunately the relationships are given enough room to breathe and don't feel too rushed. The final confessions of love (or lust) feel fitting and genuine, with the steamy payoff at the end of each route well worth the effort. Oh, and there’s some major creep factor in one of the routes which is both entertaining and unsettling at the same time, but like all good train wrecks, is impossible not to watch in horror.

Unlike many other Chinese visual novel developers, the English translation is quite honestly...good! That's not to say there aren't a few typos and grammatical errors here and there, but the rare time one appears, I've already completely forgiven it. That said, outside of the love scenes and bad endings (two of which are deliciously wicked in their imagery and prose), the writing style is a tad bland and could use a little more flourish in its descriptions. But this is merely a small gripe I have in what is otherwise a very well-localized visual novel.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1396928604
The artwork and presentation is also top notch with beautifully drawn sprites and CGs, a few of which have slight animation during key scenes. As for the soundtrack, it’s filled with beautiful ethnic pieces that perfectly set the tone for the story and setting. Even the UI and menus are lovely and easy to read and navigate. And as advertised, you can toggle between hair or no-hair for the monks, which is a really nice touch that allows the reader to decide how authentic they want their holy man to be when romanced. Personally, no-hair freaks me out a little bit, so thank goodness for fully-coifed monks!

All in all, Lost in Secular Love is a breath of fresh air when it comes to Chinese visual novels here on Steam. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s apparent that a lot of love and effort went into the title, and the developers clearly care about their English-speaking readers. You’ll be hard pressed finding better value for the price, especially for a fully-voiced VN.

因本人中文不是特別好(其實只是打字比打英文慢orz)，所以以下感想就用英文打>_<

Okay, first off, the idea of romancing monks is a very interesting one. Caught me off guard, to be perfectly honest lol.
And to be perfectly honest once again, one of the things that got me sold for this game is that one sexy preview CG of Huihai and MC >//<

I think the writing is really well written, although I guess because of the length of the game, the way the relationships progress felt somewhat rushed. Well, except for Ziqing, I suppose.
I like MC's overall personality a lot, and I can relate with her on many things.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HUIHAI AND ZIQING.
Ziqing because I am a sucker for childhood friends, although he sometimes annoyed me because of his tsundere personality. But once you get past his sharp tongue and start seeing the meaning behind his actions, he's pretty sweet!
Huihai becuase I am also a sucker for megane/glasses. And also because of the similarities between MC and Huihai lol. Unlike with Ziqing, I really like Huihai's interactions with MC. They can relate and even have fun because both are extremely frugal lol, and I think that MC is in desperate need of a friend, considering her situation. Also, HIS BLUSHES MAN, HIS BLUSHES.
And as for Zhikong...I'm certain there are people who loves this type of thing, but personally, it left quite a bad taste in my mouth, even with the happy ending. Not sure how to describe it more without spoiling anything else, so you'll just have to play his route to know, I suppose.

I also love the music and the art. The art is really good!! Just look at the preview CGs and tell me it isn't, for an indie otome game.

I really wish this game was in English. I was quite lonely chatting with my friends about this game and they really really want to play it too, but can't because they can't understand Chinese lol.
But to those who do understand Chinese, I think this is a really good game for it's price, and it's fully-voiced, too!!

Edit: Below review is for the Chinese version. Will update once English release is available.

Why oh why aren't there more Chinese historical dating sim games like this? Please make more!

I originally wanted to wait for the English release but I'm too impatient and it gives me an excuse to practice my Chinese... lol and I have to say I really enjoyed it!

- The voice acting:
Voice acting is so on point... especially Zhikong. I'm in love with his voice. Like seriously I don't even care he's a weirdo and a little ♥♥♥♥, I'd listen to him talk mantras all day. haha I wish the main character was also voice acted because I'm lazy and I want someone to read it for me. lol

- The music:
The title song has been stuck in my head for the past few days!!! Ahhh~ It may be because I'm partial to traditional Chinese music but the use of traditional instruments in the bgm is just perfect for the setting.

- The setting:
Speaking of the setting... I LOVE THE SETTING! Like I said I wish there were more games set in ancient China released in the West. I hope more developers think about releasing Chinese games in the West. The game goes a bit into some buddhism-inspired philosophy in some routes (hello they're all monks) which I find interesting. The religion depicted here is fictional (draws from inspiration from buddhist principles) but is not actual representation of real Buddhism. It's generally focused on the relationships and less on the religious doctines. I think most people should still be able to enjoy it even if you aren't religious or buddhist.
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To provide some context for those who may not be familiar: In order to become a monk, one must give up worldly desires including love/romance/carnal pleasures. To have attachment to earthly things/person is to be tethered to the mortal realm and thus preventing one from attaining nirvana. (Similar to real Buddhism) The temple and monks serve mostly as a backdrop for the story and this conflict of detachment vs. romance is one point of interest explored in the game.
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- The story:
I think the game delivered a good balance of humor, romance, and angst. Some routes definitely extroted more tears than others. I didn't feel the writing was contrived or cingey (which is a problem I have with most otoges). Typical of historical Chinese stories, this did a pretty good job at evoking a sense of nostalgia and beautiful melancholy... if you ever watched C dramas you know what I mean.

- The love interests:
Few brief descriptions on the male leads:
Zhikong: serene, aloof, obsessive, possessive, a living contradiction, dat voice dayyyum
Huihai: a precious sweet cinnamon roll, basically perfect, so smart and yet so dumb
Ziqing: childhood friend, tsundere, infuriating and endearing, is a lil ♥♥♥♥, actually pretty thoughtful

- Main character:
I liked that the MC is capable and intelligent and isn't a total pushover (unlike some other otoge where the MC is a weak potato and/or immature brat...). She can be silly, sassy, smart, self-depricating... you know, more like a real person and less like a paper doll. Why is it so hard for other writers to give the girls a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ personality?

- Value:
I felt the game wasn't very long compared to some other titles and only has 3 routes but considering the price, it's definitely worth the buy! I liked it so much I wish the game was longer and/or had more routes. I think you get more than your money's worth even at full price.

I'm looking forward to the English release. I may play through it again on the English version to get a comparison.

I noticed this game long time ago while searching for cute backgrounds and it's finally translated into English! I'll say right off the bat the translation is very decent. It's my first voiced Chinese visual novel. It sounded quite new and peculiar for my ear but soon enough I really fell for it! I know one developer who is creating a Chinese learning game right now and I'm eager to try it, that's how much I enjoyed the voice acting here. Not only the language but also music (the opening is amazing) and visuals are creating a unique atmosphere of a different culture.

It's an otome visual novel. MC is going to marry into the temple, so we're romancing monks in this game. My first reaction was 'Oh my, I feel perverted enough to play games with such plot' but then I read on store page that setting is an alternative world with an alternative religion, so I dived into this pleasant adventure without any pricks of conscience.

This game has become one of my favorite, 160 screenshots is a good proof. And I made them to enjoy not only beautiful visuals but also quotations from the story. The game can be very funny sometimes, and hilarious facial expressions help a lot to create this light entertaining atmosphere. But then we can read some deep ideas of local religion Moyuism together with MC's trivial thoughts about food, so as a result an impressive contrast is achieved. Spiritual and secular ideas interweave into harmonic combination like yin/yang.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1398471745
The game includes only 3 romance options with two endings (good and bad) each. All the characters are quite bright and well-developed for not that long novel. Their personalities are appealing in a different way, so every route is felt absolutely new and unique. I love how different fragrances are used to describe monks, they appear so vivid and alive, I literally can smell the special aroma of every character.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1398471897
All three routes managed to surpass my expectations. First of all, the idea of romancing monks creates a special atmosphere of depth, I mean we can be sure that all options are decent, honorable and worthy. They are quite reassuring to date being the embodiment of positive traits. As it seemed to me due to religious setting. And I can't say I was disappointed, the reality just turned out to be more exciting and unexpected.

All good endings are very sweet, but as usual I especially enjoyed bad ones. I don't like only mawkish stories, they are practically the same and easily forgotten. But sad story can touch more and deeper. I don't want to reveal any details, I'll just say that bad endings here (at least two out of three) were surprising and intense.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1424146913
The game features interesting options. Not to spoil the original religious atmosphere you may choose to have your character without hair or to enjoy them with it. And it's the first game where I see the possibility to toggle the heroine portrait off. That's very considerate!

So, cute visuals, fascinating story, decent translation, fully voiced... I see absolutely no reason not to recommend this game. I utterly enjoyed playing it!

It starts off as promising, the story is interesting, the characters seem nice and even the main character seems to have a personality. But then it feels like you've skipped several chapters as the characters have a complete change in their personality, often for the worse. The main character suddenly hates herself and keeps repeating what a lowlife she is, one of the bachelors becomes a psycho maniac pervert that insults you, another bachelor who kept bullying you suddenly loves you and gives you sweet lines... it just doesn't make sense, especially when you remember that the game takes place in two weeks at most.
And the characters... 2 out of 3 candidates are morbid. It made me feel uncomfortable going through their path because they just treat the main character like garbage. One gets always worse and the other suddenly becomes nice at the end but that doesn't erase all the horribles things he said... they call it as "sharp tongue" in the game but nope, sorry, that's just bullying. It really felt like looking at an abusing relationship without being able to do anything, it was horrible to read through ! She keeps saying no in tears and sometimes even saying she's afraid, and of course the characters don't care because "she actually wants it"... seriously ?!

Almost no choices; and once in a path, half of them don't matter.

The graphics look really beautiful but meme-like images keep appearing everywhere, in the background, on the characters' faces : completely ruining the atmosphere.

The lines are all voice-acted in Mandarin ( except for the main character ) and they are all really well acted.

There are some weird sentences here and there but all in all it is nicely written, learned a lot of new words, yeah...

Annoying bugs : if you try to open the glossary while someone is speaking, it might break and then you can't continue ( thankfully, saving then going back to the main menu works ). When trying to fastforward through already read text, it will either : stop fastforwarding even though you already read the text, or worse : fastforward even though you didn't read it yet, so you'll have to go back to read it u_u

Lifespan : ~3 hours for the first playthrough, ~7 hours to get all endings.

Story : The main character is a young girl from a noble but poor family who dresses as a boy to work in the city to provide for her family. She gets sent to the temple to marry a monk so that she will be set for life and be able to support her family. The main character has to prove she's worthy for the position by learning about the temple's religion and while she's there, she gets to know better the monks living there.
There are 3 main paths, one for each romance candidate. Which path you take actually depends on what place you visited at the beginning of the story, after that it's locked on a character and you have no choice but to follow through... I ended up doing the path for a character I was actually trying to avoid just because I visited the storage room x)
The side characters are really nice.
The relationships just go too fast and don't make sense, remember... it's only been 2 weeks at most ! It starts okay but then it feels like they suddenly realised there were only a few chapters left and they had to wrap it up quickly.

Romance Candidates : There are only three candidates.
- The first one is the monk in charge who the main character was brought to marry. He always speaks in quotes and suddenly becomes the most creepy person in the world. He will insult the girl and abuse her.
- The second one is the brother of the first monk. He's the only nice from beginning to end candidate in this story. He takes care of the temple's budget and needs and greets people visiting.
- The third one is a childhood friend. Apparently he was super nice when he was a child, now he's just a bully. The main character keeps reminiscing on their past but since you didn't see it and you learn almost nothing about it, you'll have to imagine it for yourself if you want to care about this character. He suddenly becomes nice near the end.

Gameplay : The story is in 10 chapters + a final chapter which serves as an epilogue.
You very rarely need to make a choice and there are only two possible endings for each character.
From time to time you get the choice to visit a place or another, which one you visit first has an incidence on which path you will take. On your first playthrough you won't know where the characters will be, so it's like randomly choosing your first path. Whether you get the good or the bad ending will mostly depend on the last two choices.

Achievements : You get an achievement per ending + an achievement for enabling or not the monks' hair.

Lost in Secular Love stands out for its design, the artwork is very beautiful and the story is interesting. It may not seem attractive to have an affair with a monk but without a doubt it is once you give it a try, it ended up surprising me. Each of the three characters are versatile and the scenarios that are presented are quite captivating, as each of them has some complexity and elements that I like. Even the secondary ones are also very pleasant, from their family to members of the temple and seeing the everyday life of the temple was nice too. The touches of humor are surprising and very well balanced with the drama and romance parts, the protagonist is really funny and the doodles that represent her thoughts and things she doesn't say aloud stand out by far. It's a very funny game in general. The option to put them hair on or not is also remarkable funny. It's a game with an average game time and with three routes only as I mentioned but I liked that too, it gave me the chance of seeing the characters a little more in dept too as the relationships progress in a little more slow way (like a slowburn kinda good way) but that doesn't mean that it's not equally rewarding or intense. There's a lot of moments, trust me. Each route has a perfect end and the bad end and they're shown in each route in a slightly different way than other otome games too.

I think they did an excellent job since it's a game that it's about being with monks and living in a temple and there's a lot of talk about spirituality (it's located in an alternate history with an alternate religion) in reflecting that in the endings. It can be said that each perfect end is appropriate and according to a healthy romantic bond with each character and very coherent to the history of everyone and also that each bad end is very explicit in terms of being spiritually damaged or lost somehow, also very much according to each story and I really enjoyed that. Personally it's a game that I loved to play, I liked the characters a lot, the CGs are beautiful, as I said the humor is remarkable and I also liked that it made me reflect on spirituality and life in general many times (this is personal and maybe not everyone will enjoy it but I felt very identified with the protagonist too, just about seeing what is spirituality for each one and how to live that in the end, regardless of the religion itself and what we believe, what you enjoy in life, what you choose or better said what you CAN or CAN'T choose). I think it's a very original independent otome in more than one aspect and its price is very accessible. I recommend it a lot.

• It has cards.
  
• It has 8 achievements, quite standard for an otome but very good still.
  
• It's a chinese game and it has VA, that's a plus for me because I like that a lot and the voice acting is good. YETU GAME did a pretty great job with his works in general, at least in the games I've played so far from them. It's fully sub.

English version. Didn't really notice any major mistakes. About 6-7 hours for first playthrough, choices are quite limited and not very often. It's fun overall and I'll go persuade other guys now. Worth buying when it's on sale.

The one thing I found annoying is that intro and ending songs are way louder than talking and music.

Pretty easy to get all achievements.
Couldn't run it in Chinese though, was bugged for me either simplefied or traditional.
But I love monks (｡ﾉωﾉ)

As a huge VN lover, this is really not that good. This VN starts off really well, the humor is a bit forced, but it still seemed alright. It's when you actually start going into the routes of the guys that does the writing start to get bad and the content of the story begins to make you feel pretty yucky. The romance honestly really isn't there, and if it is, it's very forced. There is basically no chemistry at all and no good flow for it in the writing, this could be just maybe a translation issue or because the VN in itself is so extremely short you can beat it in a day. Honestly, there was only one good route and it's with the one monk who doesn't go bald in the game. But even the writing for him isn't that great, and how he treats the main girl is honestly pretty crappy. The context though of the other two monks who are brothers, their routes definitely make you feel yucky and makes you question the morality of the game.
The way the guys treat the girl in general makes no sense especially since she is going into this arrange marriage for her family to secure a roof over their heads and food. Yet she is treated like garbage the whole entire time and people act like she is the world's biggest gold digger. It just makes no sense to me at all.
In general, if you want a really short crappy VN then I guess enjoy it. If you're looking for a decent good VN though this ain't it fam.

Sometimes dark, sometimes sweet, sometimes seductive, sometimes funny, but it is always beautiful!
I was blessed to be one of the people in the English Beta and let me tell you, it was AWESOME! As soon as the public English version is released, I highly recommend you buy it! (I bought it before it was released in English.)
As far as otomes go, this one was really unique, with heavy Chinese and Buddhist influences. I can’t recall ever playing an otome where all the romanceable characters were monks. The ability to toggle on and off the hair was also kind of funny and not as unattractive as I thought it might be (LOL).
I liked all 3 of the romanceable guys and their endings, even the bad ones were interesting and memorable. The guys all had unique characteristics that set them apart, even from other otome guys. From their backstories to their personalities, even their flaws, were endearing, unique, and memorable.
The characters were funny and charming, each in their own unique ways (MC’s mother is hilarious). Speaking of, the MC (main character) has an actual personality, which is great. She’s funny, strong, smart, and definitely not your average MC.
The music and voice acting was perfectly on point. I could seriously get listen to that music soundtrack for hours. One especially unique thing I noticed was how some scenes throughout the story were animated slightly (mainly some small movements in the CGs, hair movements, the usual mouth movements, camera angle changes, etc.) but it still stood out among other otomes because I haven’t seen that kind of frequency of animation before. I definitely hadn’t seen CGs with added movement like that in any other otomes, that I can recall.
The price for this game is a pretty good value, I think. With this otome’s uniqueness, beautiful characters, and storyline, I’d definitely recommend it for any otome/visual novel fan (18+ of course)!